I disagree.
I know I'm repeating myself with this but I just don't see how Ben's return would have worked any other way. It's not like the character has much usable mythology, you can't just bring him back and have him working at the Daily Grind and fight crime in NYC like the old days. Even simply bringing him back as a hero in another city would not work, in 2018 a non Peter Parker Spider title needs to be distinct in order to survive. Simply being Spider-Man with a hoodie is not going to cut it.
On the other hand the hero long thought dead come back as a villain and then take them on a redemption arc from from anti-hero to hero again has reliably worked similar characters. The Clone Conspiracy may not have been the strongest of events but it left Reilly in a place that has a proven track record of working.
The problem was that PAD was uninterested in any redemption arc. That was clear from the eerie smile through the mask on all the promo images and the previews showing Ben charging people for being rescued it wasn't going to take Ben on a redemption journey.
Yost's Scarlet Spider series was not a big seller but it did better than PAD's but more importantly the people who read it liked it and left Kaine with enough interest to still have a presence in the Marvel Universe even after the book folded. He played a prominent role in both Spider-Verse and The Clone Conspiracy. If PAD's Scarlet Spider series had met with a similar reception it's likely Ben (and Kaine) wouldn't likely be on the chopping block for Spider-Geddon now.